Among the many American "firsts" that occurred at Berkeley Plantation are:
* The first official Thanksgiving: 4 December 1619
* The first bourbon whiskey distilled: 1621, by George Thorpe, an Episcopal priest.
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* First time Army bugle call Taps played: July 1862, by bugler Oliver W. Norton; the melody was written at Harrison's Landing on the plantation by then General Daniel Butterfield.